Antigens

Substances that can be recognized by the immunoglobulin receptor of

B cells, or by the T cell receptor when complexed with MHC are called
antigens.

Immunogenicity is the ability to induce a humoral and/or cell mediated

immune
Response.

Antigenicity is the ability to combine specifically with the final products of the
immune response.

B cells + antigen effector B cells + memory B cells

(plasma cells)
T cells + antigen effector T cells + memory T cells

( CTLs, THs)
Factors that influence immunogenicity :

Proteins are the most potent immunogens, with polysaccharides ranking

Second. Lipids and nucleic acids generally do not serve as immunogens.

Proteins must first be processed into small peptides and then presented

Together with MHC molecule on the membrane of a cell before they can

be recognized as immunogens. The nature of immunogen contributes

to immunogenicity.
 Four properties of immunogens:

Foreignness
• A molecule must be recognized as foreign or nonself by the biological
system. The capacity to recognize nonself is accompanied by tolerance
for self. It is achieved during lymphocyte development. Greater the
phylogenetic distance between two species, the greater the structural
disparity between them e.g. BSA is not immunogenic to cow but strongly
Immunogenic when injected into rabbit.
 Molecular size
• Active immunogens have molecular mass of 100,000Da.
Molecular mass
• Less than 5000-10,000 Da are poor immunogens.
 Chemical composition
Polymers composed of a single amino acid or sugar
(homopolymer) lack immunogenicity regardless of their
size. Copolymers composed of different amino acids or
sugar are more immunogenic. Structural complexity of
proteins-primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary- affect
immunogenicity
Susceptibility to antigen processing
and presentation
• Large insoluble macromolecules generally are more
immunogenic than small, soluble ones because the
larger molecules are more radily phagocytosed and
processed. Macromolecules that cannot be degraded
and presented with MHC molecules are poor
immunogens e.g. polymers of L aa can be degraded but
the polymers of D aa can not be degraded.
 The biological system contributes to immunogenicity
Genotype of the recipient animal- MHC gene products, which function to present
processed antigen to T cells, play a central role in deter
minig the degree to which an animal responds to an antigen
It is also influenced by the genes that encode B-cell and
T-cell receptors and various proteins involved in immune
regulatory mechanism.

Immunogen dosage and route of administration- insufficient and high dose can
induce tolerance.

Route of administration:
Intra venous: into a vein
intradermal: into the skin
subcutaneous: beneath the skin
intramuscular: into the muscle
Intraperitoneal: into the peritoneal cavity
 Adjuvants

Adjuvants are substances that when mixed with an antigen and injected
with it, enhance the immunogenicity of that antigen.

Effects:
•Antigen persistence is prolonged
•Co-stimulatory signals are enhanced.
•Local inflammation is increased.
•The proliferation of lymphocytes is stimulated.

Aluminum potassium sulfate (alum) prolongs the persistence of antigen

Effective time of exposure to the antigen increases
Freund’s incomplete adjuvant
Freund’s complete adjuvant
 Haptens

Haptens are small organic substances that are antigenic but not
immunogenic.
Chemical coupling of a hapten to a large protein, called carrier, yields
an immunogenic hapton-carrier conjugate.
Many biologically important substances, including drugs, peptide
hormones and steroid hormones can function as haptens.
 Epitopes

Epitopes are the immunologically active regions of an immunogen that

bind to antigen-specific membrane receptors on lymphocytes or to
secreted antibodies. T and B cells recognize different epitopes on the same
antigenic molecule.

B-cell epitope: antibody’s binding site and the epitope must have
complementary shape, should not be longer than the size of
antibody’s binding site, hydrophilic amino acids on protein surface that
are topographically accessible to membrane-bound or free antibody or
the protruding regions on the surface of the protein, sequential or
nonsequential, located in the flexible regions of an immunogen

T-cell epitopes: antigen that has been processed into antigenic

peptides presented in combination with MHC forming trimolecular
structure, often internal